In this day and age it is of no surprise that more and more people are looking to start their own businesses and be their own bosses. However it is a lot easier said than done starting your own business, and if you are not qualified in a specific profession it can be hard to start a business from home. But Ecommerce has become more popular and is now becoming a booming industry. The great thing about E Commerce is because it is all done online, you do not need to worry about renting a shop or going into work, as it is all done from home. E-Commerce is a great way for you to get into business on your own but that does not mean it is easy, and it can be hard to know where to start.
If you are looking to become your own boss and start your own Ecommerce business but you are unsure where to start or what to do then this guide should help to get you started on your Ecommerce business and help you to build an understanding of what to think about when starting your business.
Decide on your type of business
The first thing you should be thinking about is what sort of business you want to start, you need to think about what you are going to offer and what sort of niche you want to enter into. People sell all sorts of things on Ecommerce sites, so you can either take influence from them or create something completely new and unique. You need to think about this hard though, as this is where the business begins, and if you do not start it right then it can take a while to get it going and sometimes you fail before you even get going.
When it comes to Ecommerce there are a few different things you could think about selling. This could be shippable goods, digital goods like ebooks and written work, a specific service, and courses or subscriptions to certain things. With Ecommerce, you can choose one of these things or multiple it is entirely up to you. Once you figure that out you can then think about who you will ship to, whether just local or overseas, and also whether you will hold the inventory at home or have it fulfilled from elsewhere.
Research your niche
Once you understand the type of business you want to enter into and what your niche will be, it is time to start researching properly to make sure you can start out well. The first thing you want to research is your competitors because if there are competitors in your niche it means that there is money to be made in it and it verifies that you have picked a niche that will take off if done right. You need to look at what they are selling, how they are doing and take notes on what their successes are, that way you can emulate them and start your business competitively. This does not mean you copy everything they do but take some inspiration and they will probably do the same to you if you take off successfully.
While you are researching you can see what sells best and what doesn’t in the niche you have chosen which gives you the best trends. What this does is allow you to pick what products are going to sell the best so your competitors can help to flesh out your product choices and make sure you are selling the best sellers. The research you do at this point is really important for shaping the growth of your business so make sure you put time into it and do not rush it.
Decide how you want to run your business
What this would be is whether you want to just be self-employed and run the business yourself and be fully liable for everything or if you want to become a limited company and register the business. You can choose either but it is best to research both and see what would be best for you and how you want to run it as it can affect how you get finances and how you pay taxes.
Pick a platform to use for your Ecommerce business
You now need to build your online store and the first place to start for this is to pick a platform to host your site. There are a few options but the main ones are Shopify, Woocommerce, and Wix; these all do a similar job where you can build your site on their platform and that will have a built shop to allow you to sell your products. You will have to pay a fee to use these options and you can choose to have them help build it or you can do it yourself if you know how or someone who can.
Display and sort out your products
Once you have your platform and site created then you need to sort out the products you are going to be selling. You need to make sure you have some stock to sell and you need to have professional quality pictures of these products if they are physical ones to display on your site. You also need to think about your product packaging and how you are going to ship the products once you sell something. With downloads and software, this is easy as this is usually delivered by email but with physical products, you will have to send stock so you need to make sure you have time to send them and you have swift turn arounds as this will help to make your business appeal to more customers.
If you are looking to set up your own Ecommerce business but you are unsure where to start or you are looking for some ideas to help, then these tips should help you to get started with the creation of your Ecommerce business and help you to gain an understanding of how to prepare for your business.
If you are looking to become your boss and start your own eCommerce business but you are unsure where to start or what to do then this guide should help to get you started on your eCommerce business and help you to build an understanding of what to think about when starting your business.
Decide on your type of business
The first thing you should be thinking about is what sort of business you want to start, you need to think about what you are going to offer and what sort of niche you want to enter into. People sell all sorts of things on ecommerce sites, so you can either take influence from them or create something completely new and unique. You need to think about this hard though, as this is where the business begins, and if you do not start it right then it can take a while to get it going and sometimes you fail before you even get going.
When it comes to eCommerce there are a few different things you could think about selling. This could be shippable goods, digital goods like ebooks and written work, a specific service, and courses or subscriptions to certain things. With Ecommerce, you can choose one of these things or multiple it is entirely up to you. Once you figure that out you can then think about who you will ship to, whether just local or overseas, and also whether you will hold the inventory at home or have it fulfilled from elsewhere.
Research your niche
Once you understand the type of business you want to enter into and what your niche will be, it is time to start researching properly to make sure you can start out well. The first thing you want to research is your competitors because if there are competitors in your niche it means that there is money to be made in it and it verifies that you have picked a niche that will take off if done right. You need to look at what they are selling, how they are doing and take notes on what their successes are, that way you can emulate them and start your business competitively. This does not mean you copy everything they do but take some inspiration and they will probably do the same to you if you take off successfully.
While you are researching you can see what sells best and what doesn’t in the niche you have chosen which gives you the best trends. What this does is allow you to pick what products are going to sell the best so your competitors can help to flesh out your product choices and make sure you are selling the best sellers. The research you do at this point is really important for shaping the growth of your business so make sure you put time into it and do not rush it.
Decide how you want to run your business
What this would be is whether you want to just be self-employed and run the business yourself and be fully liable for everything or if you want to become a limited company and register the business. You can choose either but it is best to research both and see what would be best for you and how you want to run it as it can affect how you get finances and how you pay taxes.
Pick a platform to use for your Ecommerce business
You now need to build your online store and the first place to start for this is to pick a platform to host your site. There are a few options but the main ones are Shopify, Woocommerce, and Wix; these all do a similar job where you can build your site on their platform and that will have a built shop to allow you to sell your products. You will have to pay a fee to use these options and you can choose to have them help build it or you can do it yourself if you know how or someone who can.
Display and sort out your products
Once you have your platform and site created then you need to sort out the products you are going to be selling. You need to make sure you have some stock to sell and you need to have professional quality pictures of these products if they are physical ones to display on your site. You also need to think about your product packaging and how you are going to ship the products once you sell something. With downloads and software, this is easy as this is usually delivered by email but with physical products, you will have to send stock so you need to make sure you have time to send them and you have swift turn arounds as this will help to make your business appeal to more customers.
If you are looking to set up your own eCommerce business but you are unsure where to start or you are looking for some ideas to help, then these tips should help you to get started with the creation of your eCommerce business and help you to gain an understanding of how to prepare for your business.